1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; authorizing grants for nonprofits serving homeless 
1.3 	youth in Minnesota; appropriating money.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. GRANTS FOR NONPROFITS SERVING HOMELESS YOUTH.
 1.6 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. The commissioner of human services must establish a 
1.7 	competitive grant program for nonprofit organizations seeking to establish or expand services 
1.8 	for homeless youth that formalize situations where a family friend, relative, or neighbor 
1.9 	allows a youth between the ages of 18 and 24 to stay at the family friend's, relative's, or 
1.10 	neighbor's residence to avoid being homeless.
1.11 		Subd. 2.Definitions. For the purposes of this section, "set of participants" means a youth 
1.12 	between the ages of 18 and 24 and a family friend, relative, or neighbor with whom the 
1.13 	youth is living to avoid being homeless.
1.14 		Subd. 3.Administration. (a) The commissioner of human services, as authorized by 
1.15 	Minnesota Statutes, section 256.01, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (6), shall contract 
1.16 	with a technical assistance provider to:
1.17 	(1) develop guidelines, criteria, and procedures for awarding grants;
1.18 	(2) serve as a consultant to the commissioner for selecting grantees;
1.19 	(3) provide technical assistance to grantees;
1.20 	(4) select an evaluator to annually evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the 
1.21 	grant program; and
2.1 	(5) submit an annual report to the commissioner based on the evaluator's findings.
2.2 	(b) When developing the criteria for awarding grants, the technical assistance provider 
2.3 	must include a requirement that all grantees:
2.4 	(1) partner with at least one set of participants;
2.5 	(2) mediate agreements within each set of participants about shared expectations regarding 
2.6 	the living arrangement;
2.7 	(3) provide monthly stipends to sets of participants to offset the costs created by the 
2.8 	living arrangement; and
2.9 	(4) connect sets of participants to community resources.
2.10 		Subd. 4.Technical assistance provider. The commissioner must select a technical 
2.11 	assistance provider to aid in selecting grantees. In order to be selected, the technical assistance 
2.12 	provider must:
2.13 	(1) have in-depth experience with research on and evaluation of youth homelessness;
2.14 	(2) offer education on informal living arrangements between homeless youth and family 
2.15 	friends, relatives, or neighbors to organizations that serve homeless youth;
2.16 	(3) have previous experience providing technical assistance to organizations that support 
2.17 	informal living arrangements between homeless youth and family friends, relatives, or 
2.18 	neighbors; and
2.19 	(4) be located in Hennepin County.
2.20 		Subd. 5.Eligible applicants. To be eligible for a grant under this section, an applicant 
2.21 	must be a nonprofit organization serving homeless youth in Minnesota. The competitive 
2.22 	grants must be awarded to at least five applicants beginning no later than December 31, 
2.23 	2022.
2.24 		Subd. 6.Applications. A nonprofit organization seeking a grant under this section shall 
2.25 	apply to the commissioner. The grant applicant must include a description of the project 
2.26 	that the applicant is proposing, the amount of money that the applicant is seeking, and a 
2.27 	proposed budget describing how the applicant will spend the grant money.
2.28 		Subd. 7.Reporting. The technical assistance provider must report annually to the 
2.29 	commissioner in a manner specified by the commissioner on the evaluator's findings 
2.30 	regarding the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the grant program.

3.1 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 3.2 	$8,000,000 in fiscal year 2023 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner 
3.3 	of human services for the grants for nonprofits serving homeless youth in section 1. Of this 
3.4 	amount, $....... is for a contract with the technical assistance provider for the activities listed 
3.5 	in section 1, subdivision 3. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 
3.6 	2027.